What We Know About This Family

An Overview of Their Lives

The gift of longevity given to Arnold Martin's grandfather, Knott, and his children was greatly overwhelmed by a high incidence of "consumption" (tuberculosis) and some bad luck for this family and their grandchildren. Arnold and his brother Thomas, also our direct ancestor, both died within two years of their father, Thomas, who lived until 96. Their grandfather, Knott Martin, had at least 70 grandchildren who survived to have families of their own. Arnold had 18 grandchildren, only five of whom had children of their own. The death records are a statistic, but hidden behind them is probably a high degree of suffering in illness, and in a few cases a sudden tragedy.

We know from his will that like his father, Arnold Martin was a "coaster" in Marblehead. Family gravestones also call him "Captain," so he probably owned his own vessel. He was at one point the Shipmaster for the port at Marblehead. We know the names of his wife's parents, but practically nothing about them. Her father, Thomas Oliver, descended from the Olivers who remained in Marblehead and did not return to Sagadahoc, Maine, after the abatement of the Indian uprisings that drove them to refuge in Marblehead.

Arnold Martin left a will naming his surviving wife Mary as executrix, and mentioned his three surviving children. He wrote his will while in poor health and died of tuberculosis at the age of 63. Son Oliver had died of typhus at 21 and son Thomas had died at 21 while in Port au Prince. His son Arnold survived him by only a couple of years before he too succumbed to consumption. Daughter Mary died at 44 having outlived only two of her six children. Daughter Martha had the longevity of her grandfather, Thomas, but outlived six of her eight children. Arnol's wife, Mary Oliver Martin, survived her husband by eight years or so. A transcription of his will can be found in the documents section.

About the Children

Captain Arnold Martin married Mary Sparhawk, the granddaughter of his own grandparents, Thomas and Martha Nicholson Martin, and daughter of John and Emma Martin Sparhawk. Arnold and Mary had four recorded pregnancies, including a stillbirth in the first year of their marriage and the death of their seven-year-old son, Oliver Thomas, of undisclosed causes. Arnold, himself was still alive when his father died in 1829 of consumption. According to an article about his son, John Sparhawk Martin, he died at the age of 42 (also of consumption).

Oliver Thomas died at 21 of typhus fever

Thomas Martin died in Port au Prince on a voyage with Captain Selman at age 21. I was unable to determine if this was from illness or a maritime accident.

Mary Oliver Martin married twice. Her first husband was Benjamin Thompson Valentine, who died in Charleston, South Carolina a few weeks after their marriage. She and George LeMaster, a shop owner, were married about five years later. The two men had served together in the military. They had six children, only two of whom survived to adulthood. Mary herself died at 44. Her husband outlived her by three decades. George and Mary Oliver Martin Lemaster were our direct ancestors and have their own family group page.

Martha was 27 and still single when her father died. Two years later, she married a cousin, Knott Martin (son of Arnold and Sarah Griste Martin), a mariner who by 1860 was a merchant according to the census taken that year. Knott's mother was first married to Captain James Mugford, a Revolutionary war hero and martyr whose actions obtained the "notice " of two U.S. presidents. Information about the incident that took his life appears in the documents section for Knott Martin. Sarah and her second husband petitioned for a widow's benefit, and Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter about it from Monticello. Mugford was a hero to Franklin Roosevelt. Knott and Martha named one of their sons for James Mugford. Six of their children died as children or in early adulthood. Son William survived and built a solid business before dying at 50, and daughter Martha lived to 56. The documents section in this family group includes a newspaper article about President Roosevelt's interest and an entry for Thomas Jefferson's letter.

Proof of Relationship

The baptismal and probate records are our best proof of relationship.

What Else We Need to Learn

The goal of this project is to trace every line of ancestry to the arrival of its first immigrant to America. The basic information of each couple is considered complete when we know the dates of birth, marriage, and death for both spouses. their parents' names (or whether they were the immigrant), and the child or children in our ancestry line.